Fuel charge valve of liquified gas fueled lighter



Dec. 31, 1968 KENGO TASHIRO FUEL CHARGE VALVE 0F LIQUIFIED GAS FUELEDLIGHTER Filed June 5, 1966 S OO United States Patent 3,419,054 FUELCHARGE VALVE 0F LIQUIFIED GAS FUELED LIGHTER Kengo Tashiro, Tokyo,Japan, assignor to Mansei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Kawaguchi-shi,Saitama-ken, Japan Filed June 3, 1966, Ser. No. 555,072 Claims priority,application Japan, June 5, 1965, 40/ 33,058 4 Claims. (Cl. 141-293)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fuel charge valve of a liquified gas fueledlighter includes a detachable stationary sleeve with a bore for fuelcharging closed by a spring biased valve. A gas purge passage in thewall of the lighter outside the wall of the sleeve is closed by anotherbiased valve on a movable sleeve. An apertured cap on the end of themovable sleeve supports the spring biasing the fuel charging valve. Astepped attachment adapts the bore of the sleeve to a fuel chargingcylinder. The bias of the springs is such that the fuel valve opensbefore the gas purge valve.

This invention relates to improvement in and relating to fuel chargevalves of liquified gas lighters, especially cigarette lighters.

Since this kind of charge valve is an important constituent of the gaslighter, considerable efforts in the art have been directed to improvingtheir performance.

It is common in the design of this kind of charge valve to provide afuel charging step, by attaching the spout of a portable liquified gasfuel cylinder to the inlet of the valve assembly in a liquid tightmanner, manually pushing the liquified gas cylinder by a single touchand thereby establishing a gas escape passage communicating from a gasspace in the interior of the liquified fuel tank within the lighterthrough the interior of the valve assembly, to the atmosphere, forreducing the gas pressure prevailing in the gas space, while theliquified fuel is being fed from the supply cylinder to the interior ofthe fuel tank through a liquid passage established in the charge valveassembly by the pushing manipulation.

In almost all conventional charge valve assemblies of theabove-mentioned kind, the possible gas passage has a shut off controllerat a place selected within a sleeve or socket mounted in the centralinterior of the assembly. In such arrangement, the liquid fuel openingfrom the valve assembly to the interior of the lighter fuel tank ispositioned only a short distance from the gas outlet open ing from thetank to the valve assembly. More specifically, the gas purge opening hasbeen generally provided in the proximity of the lower end of said sleeveor socket. If the liquid fuel should leak out from the interior of thegas lighter, the user thereof would observe the leaking fuel in gaseousform issuing from the sleeve. It is highly diflicult in this case forthe user to ascertain this leakage has arisen from the gaseous phase orliquid phase of fuel contained in the fuel tank of the gas lighter.Adjacent positioning of liquid and gaseous fuel passage openings resultsin a highly complicated and thus costly design of the valve assembly,since all the various working components are within the sleeve.Provision of gas purge opening at the lower part of sleeve will invite acorresponding reduction in the effective capacity of the fuel tank forliquified fuel gas. It is a necessity for the gas lighter to have a fueltank of maximum possible capacity of liquified fuel with limited tankdimensions, since gas lighters must have the greatest possible spaceeconomy. Frequent troublesome fuel recharging operations will inevitablybe invited if the gas lighter fuel tank could not be filled with theliquified fuel to an almost fully occupied state.

It is therefore the main object of the invention to provide an improvedfuel charge valve assembly provided for a gas lighter of the kind abovereferred to, yet capable of substantially obviating the aforementioneddrawbacks inherent in conventional prior art. More specifically, thisinvention provides a fuel charge valve assembly allowing charging aconsiderably larger volume of liquified gas fuel in comparison with thatattainable with use of a comparative fuel reservoir tank of the priorart.

Another and subsidiary object of the present invention is to provide afuel charge valve assembly of the kind above referred to, having ahighly simplified design with the least possible working parts providedwithin the sleeve.

These and further objects, features and advantages of the invention willappear from the following detailed description of a preferred embodimentof the invention shown in theaccompanying drawing only by way ofexample, and thus not in any limiting sense of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sections of a charge valve assembly ofthis invention in its preparatory and intermediate steps of fuelcharging operation.

Now referring to the drawing, especially FIG. 1 thereof, the chargevalve assembly illustrated is detachably attached to a mouth piece 11arigidly attached to tank top wall 11 of a fuel reservoir tank 10 whichis an interior constituent of a liquified fuel gas lighter, althoughonly partially illustrated, wherein the liquid level of occasionallycontained liquified gas fuel is shown at 9. For this purpose, mouthpiece 11a is formed with female screw threads as shown which are inengagement with male screw threads at 12a of a hollow mounting piece 12constituting a member of the valve assembly. A resilient sealing ring 13is provided between both pieces 11a and 12 for effectively sealing offthe inevitable fine gaps formed at the threadedly engaging parts.

A reduced and depending sleeve 12b is made integral with mounting piece12 and formed at its lower part with male screw threads at 120. A flangepiece 14 is in threaded engagement with the male screw threads on thesleeve 12. A coil spring 15 abuts with its one end upon the flangepiece, while another end of the spring abuts on the lower one of thedouble inside flange at 16a formed on a movable outside sleeve 16. Asealing ring 17 is fixedly mounted on the uppermost end of the sleeve 16and kept in slidable engagement with the outer plain cylindrical surfaceof the upper larger part of the inner sleeve 12b. By the resilient forceprovided by the coil spring 15, the outside sleeve 16 is urgedresiliently in the upward direction so that the sleeve is normally keptat its upper resting position in abutting relation through theintermediary of sealing ring 17 with a ring shoulder at 12d formed onthe lower end of the main part of the mounting piece. There is provideda gas purge opening 18 bored vertically through the main part of themounting piece 12a at a position considerably off the axis of the latterand normally closed sealingly at its lowermost end by the sealing ring17. At the lower end of outside sleeve 16, there is provided a bottomcap 19 having an integral and hollow stem 19a kept in threadedengagement at 20 with mating female threads formed on the insideperipheral cylindrical wall of lower part of outside sleeve 16. Theinside bore space of the hollow stern 19a communicates through a boredopening 21 formed axially through the cap 19 with the interior space ofthe tank 10. The hollow space of stem 19a contains an urging coil spring22 resiliently supporting a valve member 23 which is formed in the uppersurface with a ring groove 23a snugly receiving a resilient sealing ring24 made of Teflon or other resilient and tough material (similarmaterial is used for sealing ring 17). By the urging force provided byspring 22, valve member 23 with its sealing ring 24 is kept normally insealing engagement with the lowermost end of sleeve 12b. By turningmanually the cap 19 in one direction or another, the urging pressureprovided by spring 22 can be regulated as desired.

The bore passing commonly through the mounting piece 12 and sleeve 12!;is formed at its upper part with female screw 34 which normally receivesa screw plug, not shown, for normally closing, through the agency of aconventional sealing ring, the bore at the uppermost end, whichcondition corresponds to that prior to a fuel charging operation.

Numeral 100 denotes generally an attachment which does not normallyconstitute any part of the charge valve assembly so far shown anddescribed. This attachment is however preferably used in the course offuel charging operation. The attachment comprises generally a hollowcylinder consisting of several serially reduced and stepped parts100a100e, having an equally stepped axial bore 101 opening at the upperand lower ends thereof. In close proximity to the lower opening of thebore 101, there is provided a lateral passage 102 bored completelythrough the most reduced tube wall 1022 of the attachment.

In proximity to the upper end of the attachment, there is formed aninside peripheral groove 103 which receives a sealing ring 106, forsealing the spout at 105 shown in FIG. 2, of a conventional portablecharging container or cylinder, not shown, filled with liquified fuelgas used to charge the fuel tank of the lighter. At an intermediateposition on the attachment, there is formed with an outer circulargroove 104 which receives a sealing ring 107 adapted for sealingcooperation with the corresponding intermediate bore wall of themounting piece-sleeve unit 1212b, when the attachment has beenintroduced into the bore for the preparatory manipulation in advance ofthe desired fuel charge operation, as will be more fully describedhereinafter.

The operation of the charge valve assembly described above is asfollows.

For initiating the fuel charge, the screw plug, not shown, is loosenedand removed from the threads 34 upper end of the axial bore of the unit12-12b and the attachment 100 is inserted from above into the bore untilthe tip end is brought into contact with the upper surface of valvemember 23 at its central rigid part defined by the inner peripheralcircle of ring groove 23a. The spring tension at 22 is so selected andadjusted that the application of attachment 100 brought about in theabove-mentioned way can not open the sealing contact of valve member 23through the agency of sealing ring 24 with the lowermost end of sleeve12b.

Next, a fuel container is inserted with its spout 105 into the axialbore of the attachment 100, until the lower end of the spout is broughtinto contact with a ring shoulder 108 formed on the bore 101 of theattachment 100. In this case, sealing ring 106 serves for establishingan intimate and effective seal between the inserted spout and the insidewall surface of the attachment.

Instead of the aforementioned successive insertion of attachment 100 andspout 105, these both can bepreliminarily assembled together outside thelighter, for the purpose of simultaneous insertion of the assembly intothe bore of the unit 12-12a.

Then, finger pressure is exerted upon the fuel container, so as to lowerthe assembly 100 and 105, 106, so that the valve member 23 with sealingring 24 is lowered against the action of spring 22, until the bottom ofvalve member 23 is brought into contact with the bottom cap 19 and thussealing ring 24 is separated from contact with the lowest end of stem12b. Therefore, the interior space of tank is brought into communicationwith the bore of spout 105 through the opening 21, a diametral groove109 formed on the bottom of valve member 23, spring space around thelower part of the latter, a small ring gap at 110 formed between theupper parts of said valve member and said cap, idle space at 111 nowformed above the upper surface of said valve member and in the bore ofoutside sleeve 16, lateral bore 102 and axial bore 101 of attachment100.

Meanwhile, the spring-loaded fuel supply valve, not shown, in theliquified gas container is released and the liquified fuel rushes fromthe container through the bore 101 and the like to the opening 21,thence into the interior of tank 10.

By intensifying the applied finger pressure upon the spout through thebody of the fuel container, increased pressure is transmitted from thespout through attachment 100, valve member 23 upon the cap 19, so as tolower the latter together with outside sleeve 16 against the action ofspring 15, thereby opening the lowermost end of gas purge passageopening 18 by moving the sealing ring 17 carried by the sliding sleeve16, as cleariy seen in FIG. 2.

Therefore, pressure gas contained in the gas space above the liquidlevel 9 in the fuel tank 10 is purged out through the now opened gaspassage 18 to the open atmosphere, thereby reducing considerably andinstantly the gas pressure.

By this gas purge operation for reducing considerably and suddenly thegas pressure prevailing in the tank 10, the supply flow of the liquifiedfuel from the container to the tank is correspondingly intensified andaccelerated. When the operator, observes finally an emergence ofliquified fuel at the upper or outlet opening 18, he releases his fingerpressure exerted upon the spout 105 and then all the working parts ofthe valve assembly will return to their initial position, substantiallyshown in FIG. 1, by the resilient returning efforts provided by the bothsprings 15 and 22 and in the reverse order to that of the procedures asobserved in the case of fuel charging. Therefore, the liquid fuelpassage is also interrupted.

Then, the fuel supply container with spout 105, together with attachment100, is removed from the gas lighter and finally the sealing plug isagain attached to the upper threaded end 34 of the now emptylongitudinal bore of the unit 1212a. The gas lighter is filled up with anew supply of liquified fuel and is ready for use for igniting and use.

It will be clear from the foregoing that due to the provision of gaspurge passage opening 18 in the top tank wall, the tank may bepractically completely filled with fresh fuel. In addition, since theliquid is first introduced into the interior space of the tank 10 andthen gas pressure is released through opening 18, excessive escape ofgaseous fuel from the tank can be effectively prevented. As can befurther noted, since the sleeve has practically no movable parts withinits interior space, the overall design of the valve assembly can beconsiderably simplified in comparison with comparative conventionalcharge valve.

As an example, although the aforementioned embodiment employs, in thecourse of charging operation, a separate attachment as at 100, thesubstantial features thereof may be united into the spout of the fuelsupply cylinder.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel charge valve assembly for liquified gas fueled lighter, suchas a cigarette lighter, having a fuel reservoir tank fixedly mountedtherein, the assembly comprising; a stationary sleeve detachably securedto a wall of the tank and protruding into the interior of the tank,

the sleeve having a wall with a bore therethrough to receive the spoutof a presurized fuel supply cylinder for liquified fuel charging, a gaspurge passage formed in said stationary sleeve extending through thewall of the tank at a position spaced from said bore from the interiorof the tank to the atmosphere, an outside sleeve slidably mounted on theoutside peripheral surface of the stationary sleeve, sealing meansmounted on the outer end of the outside sleeve for normally sealing andclosing the inside end of the gas purge passage through the wall of thetank, a spring mounted between both sleeves and urging the outsidesleeve toward a position to seal and close the gas purge passage, a caphaving a fuel passage therethrough secured to the inner end of theoutside sleeve, a valve member movably mounted within the cap and biasedby a spring positioned between the cap and valve for normally closingand sealing the bore at the inside end of the stationary sleeve.

2. A fuel charge valve assembly as in claim 1 wherein the gas purgepassage extends through an outer flange mounting piece portion formed onthe stationary sleeve outside the wall of the sleeve.

3. A fuel charge valve assembly as in claim 1 further comprising aseparate attachment in the form of a stepped hollow cylinder for thereception of a spout of a fuel charging cylinder and shaped forinsertion into the bore of the stationary sleeve in sealing engagementtherewith References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,882,940 4/1959Zellweger 141293 3,044,504 7/ 1962 Iketani 141-293 3,044,505 7/ 1962Iketani 137-588 X 3,195,590 7/1965 Iketani 141--295 X 3,217,762 11/1965Burchett 137588 X SAMUEL ROTHBERG, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD J. EARLS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

